There was a great deal of unhappiness with the Shibs and with the rule at the time of CoR. However, less people are Shib fans, so there was less discussion. Also, clearly the Shib's scores suffered a great deal at the time and finished fourth, behind a team just up from juniors, so people who felt they should finish off the podium for interrupting the program had nothing to complain about...they had finished off the podium.

This is an old argument. Many people felt the pair team of Zhang & Zhang should have been more penalized in the 2006 Olympics rather than going on to win silver after Zhang Dan's horrific fall on a throw quad.

This is the third time we've seen the way this rule works (or doesn't work), and it's no wonder people want the rule changed; there was an outcry on the boards all 3 times, less with the Shibs because their scores were affected, than with V&M and the Zhangs, whose score appeared unaffected.

That's one thing.

But clearly Tessa had a leg cramp, or the lift would have gone up.

Clearly it was Tessa and not Scott, because if you look at the mechanics of that lift, she's the one that dives into a handstand on his leg, and she didn't do it.

It is a fact that Tessa has unfortunately had to know how to skate through pain for a long time; no one should be surprised that she can do it.

So I do not like to see unsourced rumors that they were faking an injury.

But also, I think the rule needs some changes, too. Skating is a sport, after all.

Does the "something different" have to be vulgar? There were lots of innovative moves they could have done other than face-to-crotch and hand-to-thigh.

Absolutely..and the result would have been classier, more creative and sophisticated. I respect that V/M are trying to take a risk with their interpretation of Carmen, but I think that such a blatantly sexual presentation misses the mark and ultimately isn't even all that creative. Controversial - yes, but it's far more creative to suggest sexuality in an intriguingly nuanced manner, rather than spell it out so literally for the audience.

Yes, the ice dance costumes in the past were quite revealing, but there are now rules in place to prevent that kind of sensationalism. But even though the costumes were revealing, the dancers weren't doing anything explicitly sexual. IIRC, Navka/Kostomarov skated to Carmen one season with nothing controversial in their routine.